Hoyer, Pelosi call protests against ObamaCare “un-American”

posted at 9:30 am on August 10, 2009 by Ed Morrissey

I guess the Democrats have really decided to go nuclear in support of ObamaCare. In the face of massive protests at townhall meetings as elected officials face their constituents, Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer have a new strategy to avoid accountability. They simply have decided to call protests “un-American.” No, I’m not kidding, and they did it in print (via Cuffy Meigs):

However, it is now evident that an ugly campaign is underway not merely to misrepresent the health insurance reform legislation, but to disrupt public meetings and prevent members of Congress and constituents from conducting a civil dialogue. These tactics have included hanging in effigy one Democratic member of Congress in Maryland and protesters holding a sign displaying a tombstone with the name of another congressman in Texas, where protesters also shouted “Just say no!” drowning out those who wanted to hold a substantive discussion.

These disruptions are occurring because opponents are afraid not just of differing views — but of the facts themselves. Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American. Drowning out the facts is how we failed at this task for decades.

Health care is complex. It touches every American life. It drives our economy. People must be allowed to learn the facts.

I can’t think of three better reasons to get government out of health care than that it’s “complex,” “it touches every American life,” and “it drives our economy.” However, it’s now apparently un-American to say that it in public. Will Pelosi and Hoyer set up a tip line for un-American activities, such as flag@house.gov? Maybe they’ll just recreate the House Un-American Activities Committee to hold hearings and demand testimony. After all, that effort had such a glorious history of operating on the same principles Hoyer and Pelosi espouse here, which can be boiled down to “shut up and do what you’re told.”

We know that members of Congress don’t read bills before voting on them. Now we find out that they don’t read the Constitution before taking the oath of office that demands loyalty to it. We know that because, in the First Amendment, the Constitution not only protects the right of free speech but also the right to petition government for a “redress of grievances.” That means that people unhappy with the direction of government have the right — in fact, have a duty — to air their grievances to their elected officials and demand better governance.

There could be nothing more American than appearing at a town hall and confronting elected officials over their wrong-headed policies, especially when those policies accrue more power to the federal government and eliminate freedom of choice for American citizens. Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer don’t agree. They apparently believe that their elected positions gives them the right to dictate to the country, and the right to be free of protest and dissent. In other words, they see themselves as royalty — as if they themselves were the state, and any protest is un-American simply because it opposes their policies.

They’re impugning your patriotism for using the First Amendment. That tells us everything we need to know about the Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate. This is a new low in American politics, and both Pelosi and Hoyer are foolish enough to put it in USA Today for all to see it.

Update: The boss notes that Hillary Clinton has slammed Pelosi and Hoyer for questioning the patriotism of dissenting Americans:

“I am sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and you disagree with this administration somehow you’re not patriotic. We should stand up and say we are Americans and we have a right to debate and disagree with any administration.”

Oh, wait, that was from 2003 … when we had a Republican administration. Now it’s “I’m sick and tired of people who disagree with us, which is why Barack Obama set up Snitch Central at the White House.”

Blowback

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And what do they call what they did for the last 8 years under Pres. Bush?? This is UNREAL!!!

“To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.” Abraham Lincoln
Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear. Harry S Truman message to Congress, August 8, 1950

What’s Un-American it seems to me is a whole sk*t load of czars circumventing the checks and balances of our system. Rahm even has a brother in there…Ezekiel Emanuel.

“According to his NIH bio, Dr. Emanuel is “widely published on the ethics of clinical research, advance care directives, end-of-life issues, euthanasia, the ethics of managed care, and the physician-patient relationship”

Let me get this straight. It is patriotic to provide material support and aid and comfort to our enemies on the battlefield. It’s patriotic to release top secret plans of battle. It’s patriotic to advise our ememies on our strategies and tools we are using to combat them.

But it’s un-patriotic to ask our elected officials questions about the laws they are passing and their motivations and thinking behind that legislation.

I can remember a time when asking questions of our government, undermining our armed forces and threatening our elected officals was patriotic.

“I’m sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and disagree with this administration, somehow you’re not patriotic. We need to stand up and say we’re Americans, and we have the right to debate and disagree with any administration,” -Hillary Clinton.

Ok – Witch Pelosi and Hoyer call the opposition “un-American”, and now even Kathleen Parker is getting a clue:

Here’s how a Florida real estate appraiser summed up the zeitgeist: “People don’t believe the politicians or the government stats when they know five couples who are losing their house and cars. . . . Basically, it’s a total disconnect from government, and government cannot influence their decisions unless they give them money, yet every giveaway reinforces their lack of faith.” The town hall protests may be orchestrated, but nobody had to manufacture the anger on display. With
unemployment at 9.4 percent, the dog days are beginning
to feel like the dogs of war. Congress and Obama might want to take note.

Well if the federal government declares that I am un-American then I guess my only choice is to be Texan. I’ll just have to commensurate with other un-Americans, like Virginians, Mississippians, and the like.

That’s ok, Nan…the more you open that mouth of yours the more people see what a blithering idiot you are. I’m glad you like to talk.

These people are desperate. What they don’t realize is that this is a lose lose situation for them. If they pass this boondoggle their party will suffer the consequences. If they don’t pass it? Their party will suffer the consequences.

The thing that amazes me about the current situation is the utter contempt that they have for the people.

I never in my life would have imagined people this excited and upset about politics. And if you told me that people were going to get ANGRY about HEALTH INSURANCE. . . well, I’d have thought you were absolutely bonkers.

So the situation as it stands, it seems like people don’t want the government to get involved in another open ended government program that will put taxpayers on the hook for trillions more dollars each year.

And Congress says, you will let us spend this money whether you like it or not.

Bottom line: I can’t believe that THIS is the fight that they choose to ‘change’ America. I would think that politicians would see the anger, outrage, and rage and move on to something that people could agree on. They are using up a TON of political capitol on something that should require consensus.

I think so too. They would love nothing more than to see a tea party or healthcare protest errupt into an actual riot. Then they could label us “right wing terrorists” and it’s off to the re-education camps.

At least now we know what they think most of the American people are.Loud mouth,un-american ,poor dressing, swastika carrying part of a big mob group of people.Thanks Congressman Pelosi & Hoyer.We think very highly of all of you also.

Any odds on Pelosi and Hoyer actually having read the bill and having any ‘facts’?

I’m putting that at a few thousand to one against. Say one point for every page in the bill, including pages intentionally left blank that they will wonder why it was left blank save for the writing on it saying that…

Possibly more as the bill is ‘complex’. Although its aim is ghastly and simple.

This country does not let the Government decide who lives and who dies, who eats and who goes hungry, who gets healthcare and who does not.

Providence decides such things.

Government cannot fire the American people. But the American people can fire them; with ballots and with bullets as a last resort.

No, I do not advocate armed, violent rebellion and bloodshed in the streets. Just making an observation that John F. Kennedy stated: Those who make Peaceful Revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable.

First we were racist, then we were subsidized, then we were nazis, now we are un-American. At first I thought they were baiting us and maybe they are. Thing is, we aren’t going away no matter what they call us. Sticks and stones. . .

All of this really shows how politically incompetent the Dhimmicrats are.

When you see a majority of Americans are against your hell-care agenda, you don’t double down, lower your head, and ram through, yelling about opponents being “un-American.” You don’t knuckle down and say you want them to shut up. You don’t send your goons to beat them up.

You tactically retreat and do a little political recalculation to make your plans more palatable.

Yes, they are but not the kind of war you are thinking. At Obama’s direction they are not only starting class warfare, but a party warfare as well. Obama was supposed to be the “uniter” but in reality he is dividing this country not only down party lines, but also the rich vs the poor, and race lines. The sad thing about all of this is WE saw it coming.
On a good note, our voices are getting stronger and more and more people are standing up. They are afraid of us and they should be. We may not be able to fix the corruption and stupidity that is this congress and this administration but, WE CAN VOTE IT OUT.

These tactics have included hanging in effigy one Democratic member of Congress in Maryland and protesters holding a sign displaying a tombstone with the name of another congressman in Texas, where protesters also shouted “Just say no!” drowning out those who wanted to hold a substantive discussion.

I keep hearing about this effigy as if it were some sort of an atrocity. Are our elected representatives so thin-skinned that they can’t handle some criticism? Code Pink spend months taunting wounded soldiers and their families outside Walter Reed without a peep from these political whores. Now, one effigy and a picture with horns drawn on it that is critical of Congress and they start crying like little school girls. Simply disgusting. They all need to go home.

Yes hey are. They want violence so that a national emergency can be declared which will cement their power and insure they will never be removed. Watch for it before 2010 because they can not afford to take a chance that people may vote them out. The coup will finalize just about this time next year.

So, Mr. and Mrs. Hoi Palloi-si, why are you drowning out opposing views? Are you un-american?

Steve Z on August 10, 2009 at 9:36 AM

That’s how I see it.

And Pelosi’s ass cover charge that “the CIA lies all the time” is Obama’s “Justice” Dept.’s top priority to prove with the thug Holder leading the Obatomy witch hunt to release JIHADI terrorists and prosecute anyone who interrogated them, held them, captured them.

The completion of Socialist Newspeak has taken hold. Defy the illegitimate by holding to what is textually true. Give an inch to revisionism, lose your essence and your ground all in one fell swoop. You might not realize it all at once; as if that matters once you’re sold down the river of denial.

NOW is the time to speak out LOGICALLY in complete and coherent sentences that display your argument against the specific wrongs being enacted by Congress, our President, and our Judicial system.

You can not wait until you feel comfortable or safe to figure out what you think and rehearse your completed thoughts aloud. Don’t simply antagonize with labels. Have a handful of facts that you want publicized ready in mind to clarify what page of the ObatomyCare you repudiate.

Learn from the GOP Doctors Caucus, and from the Congressional Health Care Caucus Republicans since they’ve already done all the homework and have already been presenting Conservative points in their own bills for years, trying to cut out the corruption in the Medicaid/Medicare system and negotiating a reasonable TORT Reform that would include of necessity responsible censure of doctors who lose malpractice suits, losing licenses.

However, it is now evident that an ugly campaign is underway not merely to misrepresent the health insurance reform legislation, but to disrupt public meetings and prevent members of Congress and constituents from conducting a civil dialogue.

I call BS on that paragraph. These “townhall meetings” are government propaganda designed to create soundclips for the media to help ram universal health care through. They are PO’ed that those clips are instead the voice of angry opposition.

What Pelosi is calling disruptive is the American people reaching the end of their rope on Obama’s rush to socialism and REFUSING to listen to anymore of Washington’s stale talking points and fabricated “facts” concerning universal healthcare.

Anyone who believes that it is a good idea to take the most personal and important aspect of ones life and handing it over to the government to run is bat sh*t crazy.

This is not a matter of economics and social fairness… this is a matter of personal liberty and the statist are unhappy that we will not willingly give it up. Now they will have to take it by force and that never looks good.

First we were racist, then we were subsidized, then we were nazis, now we are un-American. At first I thought they were baiting us and maybe they are. Thing is, we aren’t going away no matter what they call us. Sticks and stones. . .

doctormom on August 10, 2009 at 9:54 AM

I’ve noticed that every term that has been applied to the left recently “astro turf”, or “brown shirts” ex, are the very terms they are slinging back at their detractors. Reminds me of a child on a play ground with nothing to say but “I know you are but what am I?”” over and over…